


The Difficulty in Comforting

by demon_tea_parties



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: And Tabitha is very sad about something, Angst, Babs and Tabs are so in love, Being posted, But blame it on having to wait so long to get my account, Everyone is happy by the end so...., F/F, F/M, I hope everyone enjoys!, Kinda, My First Fanfic, Prompt-Cuddling, Season 4 Finale Spoilers, So if you don't want spoilers, Summer of Gotham, This fic is so late, or just read the summary, read at another time, read to see why
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 23:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14987681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demon_tea_parties/pseuds/demon_tea_parties
Summary: - Major Spoilers for the Season 4 Finale -Tabitha is still in great pain over Butch's death. Barbara tries her best to comfort her, but is having trouble in doing so.





	The Difficulty in Comforting

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, hello! I'm so excited I can finally post this, I waited a while to finally create my account, so that's why this fic is for an older prompt. This fic isn't the best, but thanks to my very good friend, Gray_Reylo, I mustered up the courage to write this whole fic and post it! It isn't that long, but this will be the first official one I have posted. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, and please leave a comment and tell me what you thought of it! Kudos are appreciated!!! <3

The Sirens Club was silent unless you counted Tabitha's sobs and sniffles as sounds. She hadn't stopped crying ever since she first got the chance to break down, any pain she had ever felt came flowing in at a non-stop speed. It had been days since Butch's death at Penguin's hands but Tabitha still felt like she was there, with her hand on his body, no heartbeat in his chest, while Oswald spoke about his victory in revenge.

She was propped up against the bar, leaning on her elbows, her arms covering the sides of her face and her head was looking down below at the counter. Nothing has stopped the pain she was feeling, sure the wound from that day was healing, but the pain in her heart was much different and she had a feeling it wasn't healing anytime soon. Barbara was there in the beginning, not saying anything, just watching Tabitha as she lost all hope and gave up, endless tears streaming from her eyes. Barbara eventually left, giving Tabitha nothing but a pat on the shoulder before fleeing. Tabitha perhaps did prefer being alone, but the more she thought about the loneliness, the sadder she got. She just didn't know what to do or to feel at this point...

Heels then clicked out of the backroom into Tabitha's direction, anger and annoyance in Barbara's step. "Are you still mourning that walking corpse?" Barbara's voice interrupted Tabitha's sobs, she hid her face behind her arms, sniffling. "I hope you get over it soon cause the girls are complaining about all the waterworks." Barbara moved closer, placing a hand on her hip while waiting for a response. It did take a moment before Tabitha spoke, "Could you be any less unsympathetic?!" Tabitha's head rose from the bar, "And I can't just get over something like this!" Her voice was raspy when she spoke, her eyes still red and a couple of drops escaped from her eyes.

Barbara took a step back, surprised by Tabitha's outburst but still stood her ground. "Well," Barbara moved her fingers to her hair, placing a strand behind her ear before continuing, "Your brother died, came back, all resurrected and clueless, then died again. You seemed to handle that alright." She threw her hands up, both now landing on her hips. Tabitha laughed, despite all the sadness, she still had the ability to think Barbara's reasoning for why she should no longer be upset, was hilarious.

"You think that is the same as this?" Tabitha's knuckle knocked against the surface of the bar before she stood, the stool scratched across the floor, squeaking slightly. "You must be joking." 

Silence.

The girls remained in their spots, staring into each other's eyes, exchanging no words, they were only breathing and blinking with each other. It was as if almost everything fell silent, frozen, while nobody spoke. The constant gunfire that rang outside actually stopped since Gotham's recent destruction. Smoke and fire were all that could be spotted from The Sirens Club windows, no spotted gang members fighting for territory. But when they were fighting, they all knew The Sirens was off limits and if anyone tried to step foot in...well they'd be dead before they could even do that.

The sudden quietness, however, gave Tabitha the answer, Barbara actually believed Theo and Butch meant the same to her. It was actually very disappointing. "By your silence, I take it you weren't joking." It wasn't a question, and it didn't need to be. Barbara sighed and shrugged her shoulders at the observation. She had no clue what Tabitha was getting at. All she wanted was for her to stop moping around. Tabitha was the strongest person she knew and yet, she remained in a puddle of her own tears. "Nothing, nothing ever, will compare to the way I felt for Butch and there's no pain that would equal to the one I feel because of his death."

Barbara's expression was unreadable, she exhaled once before staring at the shiny floor, which wasn't actually that shiny at the moment, nobody had the chance to clean it. Her arms were crossed and her head moved side to side before exhaling once again, then she looked up. Unfortunately, that look was still on her face. Tabitha was unsure what she saw in Barbara's pale, pretty face. Was it worry? No. Sadness? Pain?

No matter how hard it was for Tabitha to stop herself from asking her what was the matter, Barbara still had to learn to put someone's needs before her own, no more just changing any subject to involve her in every matter, Tabitha no longer allows that. They promised each other that if they were to be close again, they would work on the things that kept them apart in the first place. That included Barbara's selfishness. Tabitha sighed, they weren't talking anymore now and she had no idea how they would start up a conversation anytime soon, or if she even wanted to talk with her at all.

"Listen...I'm sorry, I really am. And you're right," They looked back at each other, "I shouldn't have thought or said that your brother and Butch were equal to you, it was wrong of me." Barbara did the best she could to give a sincere apology, but she really meant everything she said, she just hoped Tabitha could tell she was speaking the truth.

"Thank you, really, but you can see why I'm upset right?" The two stepped closer to each other in conversation, unknowingly. "Of course and you should be. I've never felt what you have, but I want nothing more than to be able to help you, but I..." Barbara trailed off, not ready to admit she couldn't comfort the only person who meant the most to her. Tabitha always was there for her but she never gave any type of support in return.

"You don't know how...I get that, I appreciate the best you've been doing so far," Tabitha placed a hand on Barbara's shoulder, watching the sadness or pain leave her face, she removed it after she saw the change, smiling genuinely and Barbara mirrored the smile. "I basically gave you nothing, unless you count a pat on the shoulder and telling you to cut out the crying support, I could have done way better than that."

"And you can," Tabitha encouraged, "Starting by telling the girls to back off and let us do our thing and they should care less!" This wasn't the same mourning girl from before, this was Tabitha, the Tabitha Barbara knew....and loved... She truly missed being able to feel this way for her, feeling like it was the right emotion, the one she always wanted to feel and never did until she met Tabitha. All her past "flings" meant nothing to her now, when this beautiful, courageous woman stood in front of her.

"Ugh," Barbara groaned suddenly, Tabitha becoming rather concerned. Before she could ask her _"What’s the matter?"_ Barbara said, "I'm being selfish again. I was trying to help you mend your pain and I flipped the conversation onto me. I'm sorry, I told you I'd work on it-" "It's okay," Tabitha interrupted, grabbing Barbara's shoulders, calming her down. "You have helped me, trust me." She squeezed her shoulders slightly, nodding at Barbara, hoping she understood. "How have I helped you?" She tilted her head, blinking a few and avoiding eye contact for several seconds, before locking eyes with Tabitha.

"You just have, you always do." Tabitha exclaimed before smiling, she just couldn't help herself. Whenever she was with Barbara she always felt like this, happy. While Selina was around, she didn't want to admit it but she felt like they were an actual family, one she always dreamed of having. Even though it was a dream she kept behind closed doors, her and Barbara matched that wanted family. She hoped that Selina was doing okay, wherever they took her and that she survived. Just maybe, one day, she could come along again and be her family once more...

~~~~~~~~~~

Tabitha and Barbara were relaxed on the sofa in front of the wide window, just like they have done before in their past, fingers intertwined, admiring each other in their minds. "I hope you know how much I care about you Tabitha, I think this is proof." Barbara motioned to their position, attempting to shake pieces of hair out of her face. Tabitha laughed at that, the grin remaining on her face. "I know you do and I thank you for that. I care about you too, a whole lot."

They shared a glance before moving their bodies to where their arms were wrapped around one another, hands still being held, and smiles stuck on their faces. Tabitha's head now lying on Barbara's shoulder, snuggling up. They enjoyed these moments, that they knew wouldn't last for forever, but possibly, they did hope, it would last for that long.

"I love you." Tabitha spoke up, it was unexpected and it did surprise Barbara, but she breathed in happily despite her shock and responded with, "I love you too, my...Tigress."

**Author's Note:**

> There we are, it's finished! I know the ending was short, I didn't really know what else to do with it, I apologize. But how did you feel about Barbara calling Tabitha "Tigress" at the end? Ed said it once, it was amazing when he did since she is Tigress, but I thought maybe it'd be more meaningful if Barbara said it? Tell me what you thought of it and this fic, I think I did pretty well for not writing in a while and being my first fic on here. Of course, none of this would be possible without my best friend, Gray_Reylo (@Jeremiah-and-Jerome-Valeska, on Tumblr)! They have been giving me non-stop support and advice, I can't thank them enough. They have fanfics of their own (find them at Gray_Reylo on this website), one of my favorites have to be a Jeremiah x Ecco fanfiction, so if you're into that ship, you should check theirs out, it's so very well done! But even if you don't ship those two, check out their account anyways, they have other amazing stories they have written, I'm sure you'll enjoy their writing! Thank you to everyone who has read this fic, you're all so very amazing, and I hope if I write more in the future, you'll read it! Please comment if you enjoyed this or have anything to say, I'll love to see it, and leave Kudos if you wish as well, I'd really appreciate it!


End file.
